Val Walker is a rehabilitation consultant and the author of The Art of Comforting, which won the Nautilus Book Award and was recommended by the Boston Public Health Commission as a guide for families impacted by the Boston Marathon Bombing. She has a master of science degree in rehabilitation counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and has led support groups for people living with chronic illness, disability, grief, and trauma for twenty-four years. A contributing blogger for Psychology Today, she lives in Boston and teaches and speaks throughout New England.